The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1887-06-09

and man, but they are shocked, they are
Mortified when minister of Christ stands
up in the pulpit on the holy Sabbath day
and urges the people in the name of God
and humanity to exterminate the worst
enemy that religion and the Sabbath
ever had.
The liquor traffic imposes great bur-
dens and hardships upon society and
especially upon the poorer classes. That
being true, it is wrong, and ought to be
put down. Recently vast procession of
laboring men marched through the streets
of Chicago behind the banner on which
was written, "our children cry for bread"
My friends, that inscription was true.
In these cities of our land, there are
thousands of children, the offspring of
honest laborers, who cry for bread. I
have lived in three of the largest cities of
America, and I have seen with my own
eyes, haIf.fed and half.clad children by
the hundred. I have seen hundreds of
nursing mothers shiyering from cold and
wasting away for the lack of nutritious
food. I have seen this even in homes
where both husband and wife toiled all
the day long and far into the night to
provide for the family.
Now, what is the explanation Of this
destitution? 1t is to be found in a
number OF well-known facts, but the
main fact is that every year fourteen
hundred million dollars worth of grain,
raised in these Unitad States, is destroy.
ed by the men who make and sell liquor.
Think of it, my -philanthropic friends.
Think of it ye who profess to love your
brother man. Think of it, ye who pro.
fess to believe in and practice pure and
unde6led religion. Americas children,
Americas women cry for bread, and yet
fourteen hundred million dollars worth
of the bread that God gives to the coun.
try is destroyed, and worse than destroy
ed every year.
"Our children cry for Bread" Stop
your distilleries and breweries, let the
bounteous harvest with which God annu-
ally blesses our country flow into legiti-
mate channels, and while the world
stands it will never be said again of the
children of American laborsrs that they
cry for bread. Bread enough and to
spare, will be within the reach Of every
man upon our soil who is willing to work
eight hours day.
Suppose there was great store house
in Atlanta, large enough to contain four.
teen hundred million dollars worth of
grain, and that the grain should be
brought from the four quarters of our
land and deposited there. Then suppose,
that the six hundred thousand men in
this republic who are engaged in the
liquor trade should band themselves
together, march down upon US, surround
that great store house and burn it to
ashes. What would you call them ?
Saints. Good citizens. Patriots. Would
you rise up and say, "these are the men
we should send to congress? From these
men let US choose our governors, our
legislators, our mayors, our councilmen,
our aldermen, our sherifs and our tax
receivers. No, you would call them
vandals and fends. Every man among
us, who has the blood of patriot in his
veins, would rend the air with cry for
war. Our wives and mothers and daugh.
ters and sisters would call us to arms, and
in less than three months an army would
be raised strong enough to capture and
bring to the bar Of justice every man
who had taken part in the burning of
the nations bread. My countrymeu, the
liquor men of this land have done worse
than burned the nations bread. They
have not only destroyed our bread, but
with it they have destroyed millions of
human lives; they have filled your
asylums With pauper children, crowded
your prisons with criminals, painted
your streets with blood, and draped your
homes in mourning. Noless periodical
than the London Times has recently
said: "The liquor traffic produces more
idleness, crime, want and misery, than
all other causes put together;" and one
of the wisest men of the English parlia-
ment declares that "if we add together
all the miseries generated in our time by
war, famine and pestilence, the three
great scourges of mankind, they do net
exceed those which spring from the
traffic in strong drink" Yet we are
asked to believe that the men who are
doing this mischief and bringing all Of
this woe upon our country and our race.
are good citizens, patriotic men, good
enough to belong to the church. good
enough to- be vestrymen, deacons, stew.
ards and elders, good enough to have
control of our city governments, and our
Legislatures. We are asked to go to the
polls on the 25th of November and by
exercise of the solemn right of suffrage
sanction the crimes which they have
committed against God, humanity and
country, and declare that they shall go on
in their works of destroying the nations
dread, and of adding to the nations pov.
erty wretchedness and woe.
Women of Atlanta, what response do
you make to this monstrous proposition !?
On the 25th day of this month, the day
that shall be remembered in the years to
come as the most solemn epoch in Allan.
ta's history, will you lay your soft, pure
hands on husbands, sons and brothers
and say: eco forth 10 day and stand By
the rum fiend, and give him liberty for
two years more to corrupt and debauch
and destroy2" Or will you rise up in